


SCP - Entity Recovery Team

by GoodBadFics



Category: SCP - Containment Breach, SCP Foundation
Genre: Blood and Gore, Dark Comedy, Embedded Images, Gen, Mild Language, Original Characters - Freeform, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slow Build, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-12
Updated: 2019-07-26
Packaged: 2019-10-26 17:44:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,207
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17750540
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GoodBadFics/pseuds/GoodBadFics
Summary: The Entity Recovery Team, formed to test a potential restructuring of the Foundation's process of recovering and containing anomalous entities, is an odd bunch to say the least. One thing is for certain, they're good at their job. And when all hell breaks loose, they know a thing or two about fixing it up. However, finding themselves stuck between alliances and fighting off the many enemies of the Foundation, all while trying to stay true to their former selves, three young agents will have to question authority, stretch their morality as far as it will go, and fight until they cannot fight anymore.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey all, hope you enjoy reading the very first chapter in my new story! I'm going to keep this brief but first of all, this is my first work in over 2 and a half years. I'm very rusty and I absolutely welcome reader criticism, advice, or just general words of motivation. Naturally, the SCP wiki is a constant stream of new information, so I apologise immediately if I make a mistake in terms of lore, characters, or general plot holes. I'm going to try and keep it at least mostly accurate to what is considered canon, but I'll warn you straight away that I'm most likely going to deviate and make my own additions to the story that don't match what is on the site, be it a personal choice or something completely unintentional. If you don't like that, that's fine. However, I fully hope to include some of the more popular favourite SCPs in this story, if and when I get around to it. Enjoy!

It was a peaceful Spring morning, in which green Colorado pines stood tall and flourished in the crisp air, filtering the thin rays of golden sunlight onto the dusty road that slithered between the heavily wooded landscape. All would have been perfect, had there not been a brightly coloured four-door van to disturb the peace, as it hastily rolled toward its destination.

"So, please explain to me again why we're out here in the middle of god-knows-where on a day like this?" grumbled a voice from the back seat.

"You know, I wouldn't have to if you would just read the dispatch files for once in your life." Responded an exasperated blonde-haired woman, whom had been behind the wheel for almost two hours. "Here, how about you break tradition, and take a look for yourself?" Pointing at the glove box to her right, her neighbouring passenger complied and opened the stiff compartment, pulling out a neatly stapled set of pages with plain black text freshly printed from the few hours prior to departure.

"See this?" The fellow passenger questioned as he slipped the document out of its plastic sleeve, turning around. "One, two, three. That's how many pages there are. Do yourself a favour and start attending our briefings." While on other occasions it would be shrugged off, it was too early in the day to not be stirred up by something so trivial.

"Fine," The tan-skinned male sighed, tugging the now crumpled pages out of his colleague's outreached hand. "But forgive me for not reading the two-page briefing on some safe-class anomaly that will take like three seconds to capture."

"I wouldn't be so sure, Leo." The man rebutted. "This is an unidentified entity we're talking about. The third one this month, no less. We don't know for sure if it's really safe, or if it's a keter-class killing machine."

This made Leo frown and animatedly throw his hands up "Like they'd really send a handful of their best field workers to contain a major threat to humanity itself. Get real, Zach. We're gonna get in, find that all we had to do was pick up some rock and put it in a box, and call it a day."

At this, Zach turned around and gave his friend an incredulous look. "Wow, giving yourself just a little too much credit there, eh Leo? Just... read the file, okay? I promise you it won't be a cake walk like usual." In response, Leo let out another sigh, a quieter one this time, before turning back to the woman in the driver's seat. 

"Alright, sorry Sam, Zach. I'll be sure to take a look next time." At that, all three field agents shifted their attention back to the task at hand, which, in the case of having to sit and wait until they got there, meant fiddling with their cumbersome outfits, drumming mindlessly on the steering wheel, and unenthusiastically reading the dispatch file.

 

  
**THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION IS CLASSIFIED**

_**Item #** : Unidentified_

_**Object Class** : To be Classified_

_**Special Containment Procedures** : The entities are to be contained in two poly(methyl methacrylate)-based cubic boxes, locked with traditional steel padlocks. Should the entities exhibit strength or dexterity that exceeds the provided containment procedure, the administration of sedatives is authorised only as a last resort. Lethal measures are forbidden and will be heavily penalised._  
_**Description** :_  
_The foundation received a statement from an affiliated organisation, claiming that 'Murray's Pest Control', one of several facade businesses outside of the city limits, had intercepted a call from a distressed family whom had discovered an 'overgrown wasp' beneath their secluded home in the forested backroad of █████. No reports of a containment breach nor an SCP of similar classification have been noted, confirming speculation that the entities are an unidentified anomaly. Discretion is advised, however, Class-B amnestics have been authorised for use upon capture of the entities._

 

  
What followed the first few paragraphs of vital information was a mess of addenda outlining more specific details of the phone call that took place between the pseudo-business and the distressed mother of the family, including a word-for-word transcript. Leo chose to only skim through this information, only taking stock of the names of the family members as revealed during the conversation. Leo's steadily growing interest in the dispatch file was instantaneously cut off when a nervous voice rang out from beside him.

"So, uh... are you guys like the MTF that I've heard about? Do you get to shoot those things?" The voice came from an inexperienced D-Class individual whom had been temporarily assigned for field work with the team while consideration for a more prepared agent was being mulled over by their superiors.

Zach scoffed at the rookie's ill-informed query, but upon seeing a disapproving glance from Sam out of the corner of his eye, he quickly corrected himself by providing an explanation. "Not quite. I'll give you the short answer. Those guys are loud. Don't get me wrong, they're the 'best of the best', but they'll shoot anything that moves. If a tree falls and nobody is around to hear it, they'll be there on the scene to send an entire army, complete with artillery and lots and lots of guns. I like to think that we're their quieter, more discrete cousin of the Foundation." Zach stated the fact perhaps a little too proudly, but he wasn't prepared to have the name of his team smeared in favour of the sometimes clumsy Mobile Task Force. 

"Well, uh, what would that be then?" The D-Class replied. Zach furrowed his brows in response. 

"What would what be?" He questioned before immediately realising what he had meant. "Ohh, yeah we're the Alpha-League-Emergency-Recovery-Team. ALERT for short." Zach stated with a smirk forming.

"That's a dumb ass name" Leo deadpanned. "Don't listen to him, rookie, it's just Entity-Recovery-Team. ERT. My... associate here is just a little dim-witted from working for the Foundation for so long."

At that, Zach's expression wavered slightly, but maintained its upbeat resolve. "Seven years!" He declared with hyperbolic glee. "And yet I still feel like a newbie. Let me tell you man, I've met people who have worked at the Foundation for 50 years. I can't even imagine how old the place itself must be." The D-Class nodded slowly, taking in as much information as he could about the organisation that had seemingly appeared out of thin air to whisk him away from normalcy a mere three weeks ago. "So," Zach continued, regaining the attention of the newcomer. "I don't want to do anything rash, us three, we're not violent individuals, and we aren't like the rest of the entitled pricks that work for the conglomerate that is the SCP Foundation." Sam and Leo respond accordingly, nodding slightly in approval. "That said, we do respect orders, and I've been told that if you make our work difficult, stunt our ability to carry out our orders, or, most probably, try to run away, I am authorised to shoot to kill you." Zach made a point of this by producing and brandishing a nine-millimeter handgun from his overalls.

Seeing his face turn pale in the rearview mirror, Sam interjected. "Alright, that's enough Zach. You have enough fun being an ass to the rest of us, don't bring him into your little world of idiocy and torment" At this, Zach's grin dampened immediately, realising that his little joke may have crossed a line.

"Alright, look man, I was just laying it on you a little too thick. I'm not a bad guy once you get to know me, I'm just a little brash, blame it on the job. Just don't try anything stupid, and we'll all get to go home, alright? Okay." Regardless of the fact that the man did not respond to his hastily cobbled together apology, Zach was satisfied that he had justified his actions. And with that, the van returned to silence, as it had been for the past hour.

Twenty minutes later, Sam finally found herself turning off the main stretch of road, and into a long winding path towards the home. "Alright boys, we're nearly here, now I want you all to go over what we have to do here today. Leo?"

Leo immediately piped up "We're here to capture an 'insect' type of anomaly, myself and Sam will be locating and catching, while Zach distracts the family inside the house. Novice, you get the honour of standing around and watching us handle things." 

While he didn't exactly protest to the idea of letting others handle a potentially dangerous creature while he stood aside, he thought it appropriate to at least show some initiative. "Are you sure? I could... uh... give the family the memory drug afterwards or something?" Sam's eyes reappeared in the rearview mirror at this, prepared to answer. 

"That's nice of you to offer hun, but you don't have any formal training. You need at least Level-2 training to have authorisation to admninister Class-B amnestics. Speaking of, Leo?" 

Turning the mirror to face the man behind her, she could see him raise a sealed bag of syringes. "Got 'em right here".

"Is there any risk of accidentally inhaling the fumes of the amnesiac and losing all of your memories?" The outsider questioned. 

Leo gave him a look of mild amusement, before reassuring the concerned beginner. "It's 'amnestic', not 'amnesiac'. And also, not that I know of. Maybe with the more potent substances, or with higher doses, it could be possible. But don't worry, this is just a Class-B, it can only be administered orally or with an injection. We're using it because it can erase anywhere between the last 20 and 72 hours of a person's memory. The call came through last night, and we don't know how long before the discovery was made, so to be safe, we're giving the whole family a smidge." Relieved ever so slightly, the ex-convict slumped back in his seat.

"I'm just confused as to why we're wearing these stupid overalls." Zach complained, picking at the slightly dirty, heavy fabric. 

"We're supposed to be discrete, remember?" Sam replied, not taking her eyes off the road. "As far as they're concerned, we're from Murray's Pest Control, and we're here to get rid of a bug." Zach pondered this for a moment, before opening his mouth, formulating his next point. 

"Well, then what's the point of putting on a show if we're just going to erase their memory anyway?" He looked to both Leo and Sam to drive the point home.

"Because," Sam started "We're always at risk of having extraneous consequences. Maybe another family lives nearby and could see the whole thing play out." She explained.

"Yeah that's all well and good, but in the likelihood of another family coming across us taking out a giant wasp, I think they'll be expressing a hell of a lot more interest in the fact that there's a giant wasp in their neighbour's front yard than the fact that we're not damn pest controllers!" Leo exclaimed, punctuating several of his words.

"Whatever, we're here now, behave yourself and we might be out of here before lunch." Sam muttered, pulling to a stop in front of a beautiful two storey home. The house was beautiful, if a little typical. It was an A-frame structure with log-wood outer walls. Stained glass windows bordered the ajar front door, and a well-worn 'Welcome' mat sat at the doorstep, a telltale sign that the house was well-lived in.

"This is the perfect setting for an alien invasion movie to start," Zach quipped. "In a world where giant insects have taken up suburban life-" 

Sam immediately cut him off, wincing at his poor attempt of mocking the voice of a film trailer narrator. "Just, shut it. Here's a challenge for you, let me do the talking this time, and keep your 'hilarious' antics to yourself.". Zach, taken aback by her criticism, simply raised his eyebrows, and let out a quiet "Yes, ma'am." Before stepping out of the vehicle, followed two unimpressed, and one slightly amused individual. "Don't encourage him, rook." Sam commented disapprovingly toward the D-Class.

Turning away from the side door of the van, Leo was taken aback to find a small boy standing several feet away from him, staring vacantly at the colourful imagery of the van. The boy looked to be around eight years of age, was very pale, and notably scrawny. Leo amused himself with the thought of the boy being the SCP they were sent after. Trailing the boy's stare, Leo noticed he was staring at the giant cartoon cockroach painted on the side door of the van. Holding a white flag in surrender while a giant red reticule encircled its winged body, the animated pest looked rather terrified.

"You know," Leo turned his smiling face back to the kid, speaking with as much sincerity he could muster, "He's actually drawn to scale." Flaring his eyelids in a mock show of emphasis. To his mild disappointment, the kid's eyes fluttered between the field agent and the image, before turning and speed-walking back inside the house. "Weird kid." Leo mumbled to himself, before meandering towards the front door in tow of his colleagues.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things turn a little pear-shaped, as per usual.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter came about much quicker than I anticipated it would! Naturally, working for a place such as the SCP Foundation is less than ideal in anyone's case just about. Keep that in mind going into this chapter. Things aren't always gonna be peachy.

Sam was a little surprised when a young boy brushed past her, hastily making his way into the house's front door, cracking it open even further. "Poor kid, the UO's have probably shaken him right up." She sympathised. "Thank god for amnestics, wish I could have blissful ignorance sometimes."

"I dunno," Zach injected. "I feel like we've all seen enough of this shit to be well and truly desensitised. Whether or not I'll truly get over the constant threat of society's destruction, however, is a whole other hurdle." In response, the group fell silent, thinking of ways to change the subject to a more light-hearted tone. Finally, the newcomer of the team decided to pipe up and keep their minds on the present.

"How do you know for sure those things are still here? They could have easily taken off hours ago, if the call came last night." Sam turned her head to respond to the D-Class. "Well, according to the transcript from last night's call, the husband managed to trap them inside the wine cellar beneath the house. Should be as simple as strolling in, caging them, and going home." Leo scoffed at her optimistic outlook on the situation before them, pulling off his right work glove to knock on the open door. "Yeah, if things go perfectly, then sure, it'll be a cake walk."

"Hello? Anybody home?" He called out into the dimly lit hallway. 

This earned a sour look from Zach. "I'm sorry, what are you doing? There's a kid in here, of course the family is home." He shook his head in disbelief at his partner's lack of observation. 

Throwing his hands up in defense, Leo responded quickly "Well, damn, I dunno, I'm just trying to get a sense of whether or not it's a good idea to enter a dark house in the middle of nowhere. For all we know, the things skinned the family alive and are wearing them as skin suits."

"You're kidding me, right?" It was Sam's turn to shoot a judgmental glare towards the cautious team member. "You two watch far too many movies." This achieved a look of 'What the hell did I do?' from Zach. 

"Well, damn, okay. Since it's open season on Leo apparently, I guess I'll just do whatever I please today just to piss you two off." He declared in defiance.

And in the name of that defiance, Leo decided to call out just one more time.

"HELL-woah, hi there." Leo's voice broke immediately upon seeing the entire family assemble at the other end of the hall; their blank faces telling him that he could safely brush off the fact that he had almost yelled in their faces. Regardless of that, he was well aware that the odds of Sam glaring daggers at the back of his head were very high at that particular moment. Taking a moment to examine at each member of the family before introducing themselves was a unanimous, unspoken decision that the three agents had made.

Genetically, it was your typical farmhouse family. The son, as Leo had noted earlier, was short and scrawny had messy brown hair, a very pale complexion, and a staring problem that could make any man back down, at least in his opinion. The mother of the family, whom had made the call for pest control in the first place, was tall, with a very fair skin tone, seconded only by her son. Her face appeared to be stuck in a permanent state of sadness, the corners of her lips drooping to form a frown. The husband was by far the biggest contrast, with very tanned skin, and a face that looked as red as a tomato. In his white-knuckled hand he held what appeared to be a rusty brass key.

"Good morning, uh..." Leo searched his brain trying to remember the surname of the family. "...Mister and Missus Peterson! We're here representing Murphy's- uh, Murray's Pest Control, and we're here to fix the problem." Speaking with as much confidence and enthusiasm he felt appropriate, Leo motioned behind himself at the three other individuals in the doorway. While an initial lack of an answer broke his confidence ever so slightly, he was quickly relieved upon seeing the husband inhale sharply, opening his mouth to respond.

"'Dem buggers are in me cellar. Get 'em out, do whatever 'ya want to 'em and then we'll talk 'bout payment." The man drawled, albeit quietly and with not nearly as much force as his red face would imply. Flashing a toothy smile at the man of the house, Zach piped up, eager to get down to business.

"Alright, no worries sir, we'll get right into it and we'll be out of your hair before you can say 'Holy moses, there's a giant wasp in my basement!'" Upon receiving a slow half-nod from the husband, he felt confident that the family were completely prepared to cooperate. "Alright, now we all know what we have to do, right? Leo, you're with me on capture duty, Sam, you can come inside and have a nice chat with the Petersons, maybe over a cup of tea even if they're offering. Okay, all set? Good. Let's go." Turning to walk back out to the front yard, Zach already could tell that today's job would be an interesting one. 

"Okay, but seriously," Leo started, jogging to catch up to Zach. "You can't honestly tell me that you didn't get weird vibes off those people? My horror movie senses were tingling something fierce man!" 

"I dunno, maybe. We have more important things to worry about right now, L. For instance..." 

Striding towards the rear doors of the obnoxiously painted van and swinging them open revealed a set of tools that would aid their attempts to capture the entities.

"Two nets, two acrylic-glass boxes, two steel padlocks, a tranquilizer gun, and a partridge in a pear tree. That's a whole lot more important in my book." Grinning to himself at the array of equipment that lay before him, he reached out to heft one of the boxes out of the van, stopping himself when he saw the D-Class standing next to him. "What do you want, rookie?" Zach said, slight annoyance underlying his voice.

"Well, I figured if I'm all the way out here to help you guys out, I should probably make myself useful. Could I at least help you unload the equipment or hold one of the boxes when you catch one of those monsters?" The D-class questioned.

At this, Leo clapped his hands together. "Welp, I'll leave the two of you to discuss that while I go find that basement door. Okay? Sounds good to me." Within seconds, Leo was already speedwalking back toward the side of the house.

Zach considered the temporary team-member's offer briefly, before immediately deciding to shut down any further attempt to take part in their work. "Look chief, I'm grateful that you're offering to help, really I am, but let me rebut that. I've been doing this for several years now. It was hard from the beginning, and it always will be. What we do here isn't glamorous, it's dangerous. It's a headache, and we don't have much to show for it. Now you, on the other hand, get a free pass. You don't do what we do, and you won't have to do what we do. You get to go back after all this, and act like you played a part in it. Trust me, I'm doing you a favour. Now go and stand somewhere safe and watch us handle it." Finishing off his speech, Zach reached back to get a grip on the boxes, stacking the remaining tools on top of them, before hoisting them off the van by their handles, and trudging back towards the house.

"Is that really what you think, kid?" Zach stopped in his tracks upon hearing the older man dare to talk back. Turning back to face him, he stared the man down, awaiting an elaboration.

"Alright, look, you're right. I've been in that place for only a few weeks, and I haven't seen half the shit you've seen. But hear me when I tell you that my life outside that hellhole wasn't all that great. I did a lot of things I wasn't too proud of. Hurt a lot of people, and I beat myself up for it every day. And when I finally got caught, I was almost okay with the idea of having to serve time in some secret organisation, running errands, not knowing when I'd become a human sacrifice for science. You're right, I don't know the extent of your sacrifice to that place, but I'll tell you one thing; you've got it good. I can already tell that a lot of people would kill to be in your position, getting to leave that place from time to time, getting at least some level of respect from your superiors. Don't you dare act like you're worse off. I've met people that shouldn't be there. Good, honest men who took a wrong turn in life, and had nobody to look out for them, like D-8341. Get off your high horse and do your job, and let me do mine." The man's voice wavered, growing raspy.

Zach just stood completely still, mind still processing what he had been told. On one hand, it enraged him, the thought that he would be considered entitled and immature regarding his position. But, on the other hand... had he changed over his time at the Foundation? Was he really becoming like the rest of the trapped souls within the thick concrete walls of Site-19? As much as it pained him to do so, he knew that he would have to temporarily stick a pin in that trail of thought, in favour of setting out to complete his mission.

"Alright, I'm sorry. Just... please stand back for today, okay? I really do think we're dealing with something dangerous. We lost someone in the past doing something very similar. Maybe when we get back I'll see that you come with us next time something comes up. Just not today." Zach weakly reasoned with the ex-convict in the hope that he could mend the situation. It seemed to work when he let out a low sound of affirmation in response.

Relieved that he had been able to defuse the situation, Zach turned around one last time and wandered back into the front yard, shaking his head in an attempt to stop thinking about the exchange he just had. Leo must have noticed this, as he gave Zach a questioning look as the downtrodden agent approached him. "What's up? Is the newbie bothering you?"

"No, no. I... ugh, look let's just do what we came here to do. Here, take these and I'll be right with you." Zach gingerly raised a box with a padlock and net balancing atop it, awaiting for Leo to take it. Deciding to not press the matter, Leo reached out and took the handle of the surprisingly heavy container, immediately turning and heading around the right hand corner of the house, where he'd found the cellar door moments earlier.

Setting the box down to load the tranquilizer gun in an act of preparation for the worst case scenario, Zach's patience had suddenly thinned, and so, he had decided that at the first sign of difficulty, he'd sleep dart the entities. Seeing that there were only two darts provided, he concluded that he'd need to gauge how hard landing a shot on the entities would be before trying anything.

Loading the gun and slipping it within the utility belt that came with the outfit, he felt as ready as he could ever be. Jogging along the side wall of the house, he eventually found his way to the door to the cellar, alongside Leo. It was your typical cellar door, two hinged sets of wooden planks, held shut with a simple latch. Leo chuckled to himself, "Hope you're feeling wide and awake this morning, I don't really want to be the one to chase those things out into the woods if I don't have to."

"If you manage to net one, hold it still. I'm just going to put a shot in both of them." Zach gestured to the tranquilizer gun with his free hand. Nodding in acknowledgement, Leo raised his net in preparation, dropping the acrylic box by the door in understanding that it would only slow him down. Opting to do the same, Zach firmly gripped his net, reaching for the latch. "Well, we've put this off for as long as we can." Unlocking the double doors and cringing slightly at the loud creaking sound that followed upon opening them, the pair stepped slowly down the stairs, and into the dark space.

"Shit, is there not a light switch down here?" Leo hissed in slight panic, sliding his right hand all across the wall, feeling nothing but aged bricks. Likewise, Zach was slapping the wall to his left, generating more sound than his partner could approve of, but didn't want to criticise in the risk of attracting more attention. Finally, after what felt like 20 seconds, the familiar sensation of a light switch reached Leo's hand. Eagerly flipping it on, he was relieved upon seeing the room flicker and fill with an orange glow.

Looking around the room, it was exactly what they had expected it to be. It was a small, albeit cluttered room full of barrels and old bottles of wine. Unfortunately, this also meant that their view of the full room was obscured. Exchanging a brief glance, the pair separated in opposite directions to survey the room with caution. The atmosphere didn't help to soothe their nerves, with the room remaining deathly quiet, save for the buzzing of the overhead lightbulbs, and a gentle breeze passing by the doors to the outside.

After nearly 4 minutes of searching the room from top to bottom, the duo had calmed down, concluding that the anomalous entities were not in the room. "What do you think, another false alarm?" Leo asked his partner.

"I don't know... on one hand I hope that's not the case, since we went to all the trouble of coming out here. But at the same time, I hate the idea of giant wasps, so I guess it's a neutral outcome." The pair grinned at eachother, feeling somewhat relieved.

"Well, I guess today was a success in the sense that there is nothing to report. If there really were giant wasps here, they'd be long gone by now." Leo remarked as he started up the stairs, his partner trailing behind. "If they're spotted again in the area, we can always come back out and- OH SHIT." The latino field agent ducked just in time to have a spiky yellow limb graze his black hair. The action left him stumbling forward several feet before collapsing face first into the dirt. Rolling onto his back and staring up into the air, his eyes widened.

"What is it, Leo?" Zach called out, rushing up the steps. What met his eyes upon exiting the cellar, was a large, fuzzy European wasp that couldn't be any less than two feet in length. It buzzed directly above his partner, slowly closing the gap between itself and the ground.

"Wait for it to get close, and then slap it down with the net!" Zach instructed. This earned at wild-eyed look from Leo. "What the hell do you think I'm doing? Laying down here for fun?" The agent snapped back before averting his gaze back up toward the winged insect as it approached the ground. Gripping the handle of the net so tightly that his knuckles turned white, Leo swung it with as much force as he could muster, cursing to himself at his late timing, as the sharp front left leg of the wasp grazed his exposed left arm, which had been uncovered by his rolled up overall sleeves. Hissing as the wound stung and formed a thin trail of blood on his skin, he grunted in effort as the wasp was swung to the ground beside him, trapped beneath the nylon netting.

"Quick, get the box, I can't hold this asshole for long!" Leo shouted toward Zach, jerking his head in the direction of the nearest acrylic container. Complying, Zach sprinted to his left, snatching the heavy box from the ground, and hurling it carefully in the direction of the net, ensuring that it would land beside the wasp in preparation for its capture.

"HURRY THE HELL UP, I CAN'T KEEP THIS UP ALL DAY!" Leo aggressively shrieked at his colleague with utmost urgency. 

"SHUT UP, I'M TRYING TO THINK!" Zach shouted back at the top of his lungs.

Meanwhile, inside the cozy family home, Sam sat in the kitchen, eyes drifting around the room. Taking note of the various hand-carved objects that sat on a nearby shelf, and the pastel-coloured tea set that sat on the table in front of her were indicative of the simple life that the humbled folk were living.

"Ahem, so..." She started, trying to make small-talk to at least distract herself from the fact that three people were sitting across from her, practically burning holes in her face with their unwavering gaze. "This tea is quite nice." She quietly remarked, drifting her hand toward the steaming cup of milky tea before her. "What kind is it? Earl Grey or...?"

"Tea." The wife bluntly stated, her neutral expression remaining unchanged. _Well, that really helped her to break the ice._ She racked her brain, trying to think of some other way to get a conversation going. 

"Y-you have a wonderful home, a very, very wonderful home" She complimented through a smile. To her dismay, however, this was rewarded with no response whatsoever. Okay, she needed a way out.

"Uh, wh-WHAT? Oh, YEAH I'LL BE RIGHT THERE." Sam called out over her shoulder toward the front door, to an imaginary voice outside the house. "Sorry, sounds like the boys need me. It was nice chatting with you all, really. A-and thank you again for the tea." Standing up perhaps a bit too quickly, she made her way outside in a hurry, eager to get away from the creepy family.

Stepping out onto the grass, Sam shuddered to herself, "What a bunch of statues." She proclaimed to no one in particular. Her voice fell silent when she heard shouting coming from the side of the house. Making a break for the direction of the voices, she found herself standing before her allies, struggling over a giant squirming blur of yellow and black.

"JUST HURRY AND POP A CAP IN ITS ASS!" Leo screamed, perhaps a bit too loudly. Swiping the tranquilizer gun from his utility belt, Zach lined up a shot, before squeezing the trigger. The action was confirmed with the satisfying sound of a small metallic capsule being fired out of the gun's chamber, connecting with the wasp's abdomen. The sedative proved to be highly effective, as the insect's movements gradually slowed to a stop within seconds.

"Alright, you're good, you can let go of the handle now." Zach sighed in relief. Leo's face shifted to a look of gratitude, releasing his vice-like grip on the net, and massaging his aching hand with the other.

With a series of quiet curses, Zach lifted the heavy, fuzzy body of the wasp, keenly avoiding its sharp legs, mandibles and razor-sharp stinger. Throwing it into the box with a look of disgust plastered on his face, he slammed the lid shut, not hesitating to snap the padlock into place. "There, we've got our guy." He declared, letting out a sigh of finality.

"Uh, guys, aren't you two forgetting something?" Sam raised her voice to get the pair's attention. 

Tilting his head slightly from the ground, Leo sent a confused look her way. "What do you mean?"

"Where's the second one?" She exclaimed, shaking her head, raising both hands in question. This made the two agents exchange glances, realisation dawning upon them. 

"Shit, it must have slipped past us when we went in, like his buddy." Leo hissed through his teeth.

Sam rolled her eyes at their incredible ability to become too distracted to notice the obvious lack of a second wasp. "Well, looks like you two have some explaining to do when we get back onsite. Also, where's the rookie?"

"What are you talking about? You didn't see him on your way out here?" Zach asked cautiously. 

Sam shook her head. "No, I didn't as a matter of fact. I hope for all of our sake he didn't run off. Otherwise, Stanton will have all of our heads." Sam spoke with an air of frustration toward her ill-prepared teammates.

"I told him to stay put, he couldn't have gone far." Zach grumbled to himself as he stood up, offering his hand to Leo to pull him up.

"Thanks, Z." He responded gratefully, reaching out to grab his outstretched hand. "Don't worry, I bet he's in the john or something. I think I saw an outhouse on the other side of the house." With that, the trio set off to circle the house in search of the D-Class.

Leo was the first to turn the corner, but as his face contorted into a look of shock, his two partners quickened their pace to stand beside him. "Oh... shit. That's ugly." Leo remarked grimly, staring down at the body that lay before him. Zach and Sam just looked on solemnly, thinking of what their next move should be.

"And with that, another D-Class bites the dust." Sam states with an air of finality, quickly coming to terms with the fact that sending an untrained, inexperienced outsider to do the work of an ERT agent was a doomed plan from the very beginning. Zach just hummed softly in agreement, with a notable touch of regret.

The man was, without a doubt, dead. The upper half of his overalls had been shredded off, messily leaving slivers of fabric to slowly drift away in the wind. A large stab wound pierced into his lower stomach, the perimeter around it blushed purple. His swollen face and chest had broken out in red, irritated patches, as a result of its deadly sting. The sight was not easy to take in. The team had seen their fair share of bodies throughout their time spent working for the Foundation, but even this was brutal by their standards.

Leo smacked his lips together to break the silence that formed like ice crystals over the several seconds that followed. "I mean, on the bright side, we might get to see what they do with the bodies of D-Class people. When we get back, I want to be the one to ask them to put him in the 'Dead D-Class Storage'." He snickered.

"And for that comment, you get to lift the half of the body covered in the most hives." Sam reprimanded her colleague. 

"Oh come on," He defended himself. "I was just being facetious. Besides, aren't there more qualified personnel that we can call out here to dispose of the body instead?" 

Sam shook her head. "That's only applicable to cases where five or more bodies are in need of disposal. Plus, it'd mean that we'd have to wait here while they come down to do the clean-up. I'd prefer to get back sooner rather than later." She tapped at an imaginary watch on her wrist to further express her urgency. 

"Fine, but forgive me if I pass out while carrying a literal dead body across the front yard." He declared. 

Frowning even further, Sam opted to ignore him, taking a step towards the body, gingerly laying her hands on the deceased man.

She quickly withdrew her hands from the body when she heard a loud buzzing ring out from behind a nearby bush, followed by the second wasp, zipping upwards and away from the group at great speed. Not ready to let it get away with what it had done, Zach whipped the tranquilizer back out from his belt, lining up the shot in seconds, and placing a dart in the same spot as its contained comrade. This time, it instantly fell several feet to the ground with a satisfying thud.

Waiting a few seconds to ensure that it wouldn't be getting back up from its spot, Sam cautiously stepped back towards the fallen man, clasping her hands around his shoulders. Looking back over her shoulder, awaiting assistance from Leo, she stared solemly toward the ground behind her, avoiding another glance at the mutilated corpse. "Come on, let's hurry up and load him in the van and get out of here. Zach, lock up the other wasp." Nodding strongly, Zach took off toward the other side of the house, where the other box had been left, and rushed back, this time using his boot to shove the wasp into the container from the side, before snapping it shut with the second padlock. 

"All set, let's get the hell out of here." He glumly looked on as he lead the way back to the van, Sam and Leo stumbling close behind, grunting in effort as they carried the body.

"You know, I heard once that the human brain can remain functioning up to ten minutes after death. So it's likely that we're all acutely aware of our fate well after passing." Leo commented, grunting as he lifted his half of the body off the ground.

Sam scrunched her face in disgust. "Leo, I really don't need to be hearing this right now."

"Ew, I think I can feel the death chill coming on..." He continued, ignoring her. 

"What the hell is a 'death chill'?" Sam questioned.

"It's when the body's core temperature starts to cool-"

"You know what, I regret even asking. Forget I said anything."

Leo stopped dead in his tracks upon noticing that the son had stepped out at some point, and was looking on as they made their way toward the white van. "Hey kid, can I talk to you in a moment?" He called calmly to the child, to no response. Picking up the pace, the pair reached the rear doors of the van, which had been opened by Zach, and gracelessly flopped the corpse between the two containers, slamming the doors shut.

"Get the engine running, Sam, I've gotta go administer the amnestics." Leo called over his shoulder as he opened the passenger door, reaching under the back seat, pulling out the zip-lock bag of syringes, and walking slowly back towards the front step of the house, in an attempt to settle his shot nerves. 

Zach was quick to interject before Sam could respond however. "She's been driving all morning, I'll drive this time." Holding his open hand out in front of Sam. 

"I'm fine, really. I drove here, I'll drive back. Maybe next time you can drive." She reasoned. This earned a shrug from Zach. He wasn't going to fight over something as minor as driving back to base.

Coming to a stop in front of the boy, Leo kneeled to reach him at eye-level. "Sorry, son," He apologised with a forced smile. "We normally have professionals come in to deal with these sorts of things. Today was a rare exception." He knew it was a lame attempt at soothing a child whom had just been exposed to giant wasps and a dead body, but he knew that regardless of what he'd say now, the boy wouldn't remember one second of it. However, seeing the boy's eyes begin to glisten and well up with tears, he decided to get it over with.

"I have something here for you. It'll make you feel better, I promise." He spoke softly, trying his best to soothe the child. "I just need you to give me your arm, it'll only take a second, okay?" He exhaled quietly, trying to stop his hands from shaking with guilt. Regardless of how weird this family appeared, he knew that they didn't deserve the trauma they could have faced had they not dealt with the situation in time.

Nodding wordlessly, the boy gingerly offered his arm to the stranger, unblinking eyes refusing to look away from his face. Without hesitation, Leo took a hold of his arm, sliding the long needle into his vein, slowly squeezing down on the liquid, watching it flow out. He was done in seconds, quickly pulling it out and placing the used needle in a separate bag for disposal. The boy's eyes glazed over, signifying that the amnestics were taking hold already.

Watching on from the driver's seat, Sam watched as Leo disappeared back inside the house, ready to administer the remaining two syringes on the mother and father. "I don't think I could do it, personally," She spoke glumly, her eyes trailing to Zach, who now sat beside her in the passenger seat. "Taking a person's memory like that." Her eyes stared wistfully at the house. 

"I wouldn't think too much of it if I were you." Zach reassured her. "It's like a trip to the dentist's. It sucks, but it's necessary. That kid could have lived the rest of his life with the weight of this on his shoulders. Now he can live on in-"

"Blissful ignorance." She finished his sentence, knowing him well enough to realise how much he valued the very thing.

"Yeah... that."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry to leave the chapter on a cliffhanger there, but at nearly 5000 words I more than doubled what I intended on including. Can't say each chapter will be this long, but expect chapters to at least crack 2000 words at a minimum from here on. Next chapter coming soon, stay tuned and leave comments and kudos if you're feeling generous! I also now have a Tumblr page if you feel inclinced to ask questions, offer advice or in general see me post the occasional bit of SCP related imagery.
> 
> https://www.tumblr.com/blog/goodbadfics


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The trio head on back to Site-19 to contain the captured entities, and have a heated discussion along the way.

Silence filled the interior of the van for the majority of the drive back to Site-19, save for the constant hum of the engine and the occasional bump on the road. Sam's eyes wandered aimlessly across the road before her as she steered the vehicle down a hill. Zach's face remained unreadable, as his mind raced with several thoughts in regards to what had unfolded in the previous few hours. He wasn't ready to admit it, but something about that morning had stirred up an old concern of his that he hadn't considered in years. It was as if he had been living in a drunken stupor and was only just beginning to awaken from it. Before he could think any further, Leo interrupted the quiet streak with an air of impatience.

"So, uh... could we maybe stop off along the way for lunch? I think we've earned it." He grinned.

Sam, without taking her eyes off the road, simply replied with a stern "No." Leo's face fell at that, immediately asking "Why not?".

"Why not?" Sam echoed in disbelief, "We have a corpse and two giant wasps in the back and you're asking me why not?"

"I was just thinking," Leo began to retort, "That the Foundation probably won't mind if we just pull over for a few minutes and get a bite to eat from a gas station or something."

Sighing quietly and turning back to his colleague, Zach began to explain. "Yes actually, they probably would mind. First of all, they're tracking us. At all times. Remember? Think they'd just let us roam free out in the open? Secondly, if we get caught stepping out of line, we're out. No more field work for us. And yeah, what she said. Giant killer wasps." He capped off his speech with a jab towards Sam.

"Okay..." Leo replied slowly, implicating that he was thinking of how to approach his next topic of discussion. "Do you mind telling us why you were so upset when your D-class boyfriend died?"

"Don't be a dick, Leo." Zach spat back.

"Hey, hey! Stop it you two!" Sam quickly piped up to defuse the oncoming argument. "I swear, you could pass yourselves off as teenagers." Her fingers tensed against the steering wheel slightly, whitening her knuckles. "But I will admit, Leo's right in some way or another. Something about that man has you shaken up, I can tell. I won't badger you about it if you're not ready to talk but-"

"It's nothing, okay? I was just talking to him before he had his life cut short. Surely I'm allowed to be a little disturbed by that." Zach shook his head in mild discomfort.

Leo raised a brow. "But it's not like you've never been around death before. In fact, I know you've seen D-class personnel kick the bucket on several occasions. This isn't like you at all. What's changed?"

"It's just... ugh, I don't know. There was something unsettling about speaking to him just mere moments earlier about how unvalued life is at the Foundation, and how I told him we'd get him back onsite safely. I mean, I didn't even find out what his damn name was! It's like I've forgotten just how shitty our situation really is!"

"Oh great, you actually let a D-class, who may actually have been a murderer and or sex offender by the way, brainwash you. Yeah, no, congratulations. I'm impressed." Leo replied, with a mock clapping gesture.

"Shut up, Leo." Sam interjected. "See? This is what I was talking about, Zach. With how you two were behaving this morning, I was beginning to think you don't even care anymore about what we're actually doing here. By not taking your jobs seriously, we're down a life."

"Down a low-life you mean." Leo chimed in.

"Down a life nonetheless. Just because the Foundation is a cruel, soulless organisation, that doesn't mean we have to stoop to its morals. I hope the both of you haven't forgotten that." She snapped.

Huffing in slight amusement, Zach cracked a smile for the first time in hours. "If they knew that this is how you feel about the Foundation, you'd probably be out of a job."

"Well, realistically, who cares anyway? I'm sure everyone at the Foundation has had to do something they didn't want to for the sake of the greater good." She remarked.

"Yeah... Yeah, I suppose you're right. I'll take the job more seriously from now on." Zach quietly pondered. "He also gave me a designation of someone who I assume was a friend."

Sam's eyes turned back toward him. "Who, the D-class guy? Zach, look. As much as I empathise with you, you really don't have the time or the clearance to chase these kinds of things up. Worst case scenario, you could get another D-class into solitary confinement for conspiring with the rookie."

"No, no. I don't think he was conspiring. I just want to see if I can maybe talk to him for a bit, catch the poor bastard's name. You know, out of respect." Zach replied defensively.

"Just for the sentimentality of it? I don't like the sound of that. Remember where you are and who you work for. You won't last long getting caught up like this, mark my words." Leo rolled his eyes.

"That's rich, coming from the guy that didn't even read the briefing from this morning until Sam and I forced him to." Zach growled.

"Okay, but can I remind you that all D-class personnel are either terminated or have their minds wiped after one month? The guy was already on his third week, right? Saving him would have just delayed the inevitable anyway. You and I of all people should know that." Leo snapped back. 

"Bringing up old shit again, L? I thought we agreed-"

"SHUT UP! JUST- SHUT UP! THE BOTH OF YOU!" Sam yelled over the top of them. It was more than enough to make the pair clamp their mouths shut. 

Sighing out of resignation, Sam decided to make a suggestion. "Clearly there's some kind of tension forming between you two for some reason or another. Today wasn't our day, and we'll move on from it. On the bright side, we did what we had to do, completed the assignment, and we're on our merry way back to base. I think the best course of action right now, is to sit quietly and just keep our thoughts to ourselves for the remainder of this trip."

The crew fell silent once more for about twenty seconds. This was interrupted by a low apology from Leo.

"...Sorry, Zach. Today was rough on the both of us. We're cool, okay?"

"Yeah... we're cool."

And with that, the three field agents did not utter a single word for the remainder of the drive back to Site-19.

  
  


"Home sweet home." Sam breathed a sigh of relief, leaning back in her seat to stretch her fatigued arms against the steering wheel, looking up at the inconspicuous concrete entrance of Site-19. For anybody who would happen to pass by the weathered front of the underground facility, it would appear to be a more or less abandoned military bunker. For insiders of the SCP Foundation, however, it was the largest containment facility in the world, home to innumerable Safe and Euclid entities and phenomenon, some sentient, some not. For Leo, Zach, and Sam, however, it was home. And while it was certainly not the most ideal place for young adults in their early twenties to call their home, it was all they had. Due to the strict, secretive nature of the Foundation, the majority of staff within Site-19 were permanent residents of its thick walls, for better or worse.

"Get your I.D. Badges ready, everyone." Sam spoke in a slightly raised voice, alerting the two inattentive passengers.

With a yawn, Leo sat up in his seat, pulling out a laminated plastic card, containing an image of his face, his security clearance, and other information of his occupation at the Foundation. He looked down at it, studying it for the first time in a while.

Slowing the van to a stop before the large steel gate, Sam leaned to her side window, anticipating an identity verification from an armed guard. Sure enough, a man clad in body armour and low-profile white militant clothing emerged from a reinforced metallic door that jutted out of the outer wall of the facade. The site's front appeared almost to be fashioned after a medieval fortress, with security personnel patrolling inside corridoors that lined the outer walls of the site. One of many security measures that ensured no one could enter or leave without the proper authorisation.

"Identification and intent." The guard deadpanned. It wouldn't take a keen ear to notice the sheer disinterest in his voice. And that fact wasn't lost on Sam.

It made sense, though. Working in the largest containment facility in the world meant being the intermediate to a seemingly endless stream of departing and arriving field agents, containment specialists, researchers, and secure vehicles that were either transporting relocated entities, or securing new ones.

"Samantha Davis, containment."

One by one, the guard quickly swept his eyes over each identification card as they were offered to him, scanning them each to log the time of their return into the Foundation's database.

"What I wouldn't do to have your job..." The guard grumbled jealously. Smirking at that, Leo leaned forward in his seat to make eye contact with him.

"Well, you never know. A place like this always has openings." He sniggered.

Looking out to the window beside him, Zach remained wordless in thought. He merely acknowledged Sam with a slight nod when she rolled the window of the van back up, tossing his I.D. card into his lap. Slowly, the metal gates of the facility scraped open along the ground, allowing the vehicle access into a vast, open courtyard. Sam veered the van to the left, outlining the outer wall that they had just passed through, narrowly missing a troop of MTF soldiers.

"Hey, watch where you're crossing, asswipes." She muttered under her breath.

"Which force are they operating under? I've never seen that emblem before." Leo questioned as they continued onward.

"I don't know, I wasn't paying attention, what was on it?" Sam enquired.

"It looked like a box with wings and a pointed star coming out of it. Must be a new task force." He mulled partially to himself.

"It's not a new task force." Zach corrected absentmindedly. Waiting for an elaboration, both Sam and Leo quietened. When it didn't come, the pair decided to drop the subject for now.

Up ahead, a large metallic structure, akin to an aircraft hangar, stood tall, with the simple words, "Containment Sector" spray-painted in bold, black lettering. Rolling the van slowly into the hangar, its true nature immediately became apparent. The large open space was being watched all over by security cameras, reinforced plexiglass windows (not dissimilar to that of the containers the giant wasp entities were contained in) provided safe barriers in the surrounding offices of the building. Large containers of various strong materials no doubt for holding strong anomalies hung from the ceiling by an overhead crane, like a shipping container yard. The bright light of the fluorescent lamps inside the giant construction gave the three a dull ache from the sudden contrast of being outside in the evening sunset. To cap it all off, the floor was lined with grates that seemed to endlessly spew white fumes into the air. All of these characteristics of the hangar came together to give off a consistently ominous air. Slowing the van to a stop in the middle of the hangar, Sam turned the engine off, and prepared to exit the vehicle.

"I don't know about you two, but I can't wait to get this stupid outfit off and unwind." Leo remarked as he undid his seatbelt and began to unzip the heavy overalls he'd been sweating in all day.

"But not before we debrief. There's a fair bit to declare about today." Zach added.

Sam released her grip on the door handle to elaborate on Zach's sentence. "And before we even do all of that, we should probably be focusing on the task at hand. And that's getting these two insects into containment, and the body disposed of. Actually, you two can go on ahead if you want, I'll catch up."

The trio all stepped out of the van. "Alright then, see you in the sleeping quarters later?" Leo questioned, leaning over the hood of the van to bid his farewell.

"Sure, and Zach?" She turned her gaze to the deflated agent. "We're going to have a talk later. A proper discussion." Her face displayed a minor tinge of concern as she said this. Nonetheless, the two male agents made their way back out the way they came, feeling the cool breeze of rapidly approaching night wash over them.

"Damn, I can't believe that took us a whole day." Leo incredulously commented. However, this only resulted in a muted grunt of affirmation from Zach. 

Leo's face fell slightly. "Look, Zach, I know we already apologised on the way over here, but I just have to make sure we're good. I know I shouldn't be bringing up the past like that anymore, but you and I, we've got shared trauma to say the least. All I'm asking is that if you need to talk about it or something, you'll reach out. I'm here to listen, you know?" 

Clearing his throat quietly, Zach slowly responded. "I thought we were past this, Leo. The best way for us to get by, is to ignore it and move on."

"But is that really working out for you? I don't know for sure if it's working for me." Leo sighed in mild disappointment.

"I feel like a broken record today, I asked for us to drop the subject, and here we are once again talking about it. I'm past it, alright? Let's not talk about it today." 

"Who's to say we'll still be alive tomorrow? Or the day after? If you don't make time, it'll run out."

Zach's lack of a response told Leo to take that as a suggestion to stop talking for the night. He decided to stop what was yet another attempt at getting the shaken agent to converse. Walking along the asphalt road for roughly three minutes in the crisp air, the two eventually came to a stop in front of a large elevator embedded in the outer concrete wall that could probably fit at least twenty people. Stepping inside alongside a handful of site staff and a fellow field agent, the pair stood quietly as the doors closed behind them, beginning their descent into the depths of Site-19.

"Ah, Samantha. What have you got for me this time?" A woman in a baggy white suit (presumably for sterility purposes) jogged toward the colourful van with a handful of other containment workers in toe.

"Doctor Read, good to see you again." Sam replied warmly, offering a small smile. "And you should already know, don't you get to read our briefings so you can account for whatever comes through?" She questioned.

"True, but it's nice to have some reassurance so I don't make a mistake. If I recall correctly, we've got two giant wasps of the Vespula germanica variety, if the folks that identified them are anything to go by," Read started, pulling a pair of blue disposable gloves on tightly. "First sighted on the thirteenth of July at approximately twenty two hundred hours, captured the following day at eleven hundred hours. Am I correct?"

"Yes, that sounds just about right." Sam nodded. "Isn't it a little weird though, that there just so happens to be an anomalous entity that resembles something not anomalous at all?"

"You say that as if there'd ever be a shortage of mystery in the world, That pretty much describes more than half of the SCP's currently in containment on this site." Read chuckled while retrieving a brown clipboard from a nearby table, clicking a pen in preparation to begin taking notes. "Now, are the entities sedated, docile, or hostile?" Read continued, as if reading off of a script.

"Sedated, unfortunately. We ran into a complication where we had to exercise caution. They proved to be very hostile." She downtroddenly admitted.

"Well, better to be safe than sorry. It shouldn't be a major issue, we just like them awake and alert when we receive them. Don't know if they'll have an allergic reaction to the tranquilizer darts. It's never happened before, but as an added precaution they discourage it in training. But you know all that. Sorry, I'm rambling again." Read apologised for her passive doting, reaching for the handle to the back door of the van. In response to this, Sam quickly put her hand to the door, holding it in place as she tried to explain ahead of time.

"Now I should probably warn you before you open the back, we had a bit of an... incident. We lost a D-class subject while in the field." She bit her lip in slight anticipation. To her surprise however, the containment specialist paid her no mind.

"Happens a lot more than you'd think, Samantha. Don't worry, we'll take care of it. Why don't you head inside, I hear tonight's pasta night." Read reassured her.

Breathing a sigh of relief and scoffing slightly at the thought of being excited over pasta after dealing with a dead body, Sam nodded before starting towards the entrance of the hangar. Zach and Leo were probably waiting for her to attend debriefing, so she couldn't keep them waiting for too long.

"Oh, and Sam?" Read called out to her, stopping her in her tracks. "Don't call me Doctor Read ever again. It's Melissa to you."

Turning back to her team of containment specialists in time to see them open the back of the van and recoiling in disgust, she began to bark out orders. "Alright, listen up. You two, see to it that the body is cremated. Everyone else can get cataloging. And let's be quick about it, my shift is almost over for the night. You waste my time, I waste yours."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologise for the shorter chapter this time around, and for the lengthy gap between this chapter and the last. I won't go into it too much because I had every reason to finish this chapter for months now, so I'm sorry for taking so long. Anyway, hope you enjoyed it and I'll be right into making the next chapter!


End file.
